


Hidden Verse, Hidden Heart: Opening Lines

by Liberty_Belle



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-16
Updated: 2012-09-16
Packaged: 2017-11-14 09:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/513823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liberty_Belle/pseuds/Liberty_Belle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little prequel to ChampagneSly's "Hidden Verse, Hidden Heart", in which Alfred and Arthur meet for the very first time</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hidden Verse, Hidden Heart: Opening Lines

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Hidden Verse, Hidden Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/444303) by [ChampagneSly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChampagneSly/pseuds/ChampagneSly). 



> So Sly's "Hidden Verse, Hidden Heart" is my favorite AU ever, and it's about Alfred and Arthur as best friends and professors at their university. This is about their first meeting as undergrads. I have to thank her for letting me play in her sandbox for this, and I hope everyone enjoys it.

Alfred dropped back into his car and closed the door, taking a long drink from his coffee before he started the car again and finished the short drive from his favorite coffee shop to campus. It was way too early to be at school. Granted, it was only about half an hour earlier than he usually got there, but it was still too early.   
  
Hauling his backpack over his shoulder and holding his coffee in one hand and his bag of donuts in the other, he made his way into the small cafe in the student center, where the lady behind the counter shot his breakfast a dirty look. He smiled back brightly and moved in search of a table. Of course, none of his friends were there because his friends were lazy assholes who wouldn’t take any class that started before nine in the morning. Alfred, of course, ignored the fact that he only was only there because this class was required, and the only other section interfered with something  _else_  he had to take — they were still lazy assholes.   
  
There were only a few students in the cafe, so logically, Alfred could have taken one of the many empty tables to enjoy his coffee and donuts and kill the time going over his homework. But what would be the fun in that? Over by the window, he spied another boy, someone he didn’t recognize, with a stack of books on one side and his own drink and pastries on the other, reading and apparently tuning out the rest of the world. Naturally, Alfred found this to be the most appealing table. He settled into the seat across from the stranger.  
  
“Mind if I join you?” His new companion only blinked at him in confusion for a moment.   
  
“I suppose not…” Oh, and he was British. Well that was certainly interesting. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”  
  
Alfred just grinned at him. “Nope. I just saw you over here and I’m bored and I thought you looked like good company.”His new friend’s confusion didn’t fade, so he continued. “I’m Alfred, by the way.” He extended his hand. The other boy took it hesitantly.  
  
“Arthur.” Alfred’s smile widened.   
  
“Nice to meet you Arthur. So what are you reading?” Arthur flipped his book to show Alfred the Cover, a rather simple paperback version of  _Othello_.   
  
“I’m taking a class on Shakespeare’s tragedies,” he explained when Alfred’s only response was an impressed raise of his eyebrows. “We’re actually reading  _Hamlet_  at the moment, but I’ve already read it twice for school and once on my own, so I decided to skip it and get a jump on the next play.” He tilted his head and idly fluttered the pages with his finger. “I’m not sure if it’s more ridiculous to start with Hamlet or  _not_  start with it. I mean, you can’t very well study Shakespearean tragedy without it, but at the same time, any high school that doesn’t include it somewhere in the curriculum should have its certification revoked. So really, everyone should be familiar with it by now.”  
  
Alfred couldn’t hide his grin at the bite in Arthur’s voice near the end of his little tangent. He had struggled through Hamlet in high school, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why on earth it mattered. Fortunately, he was saved from having to admit that thought when Arthur changed the subject.  
  
“So, Alfred, I haven’t seen you in here before. And clearly you aren’t planning to get breakfast,” he nodded toward his food, “so what brings you here at this hour?”  
  
Alfred finished off his sip of coffee and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth before he answered, “Ah, yeah I have physics at 8:00, but I had to wake up early to finish up a paper for my lit class, and apparently I overestimated how long it would take,” he shrugged, “So I decided to kill time here.” Arthur’s lips twitched.  
  
“Finishing a paper the same morning it’s due? And I thought I was bad about procrastinating” He lifted his — tea, by the checkmark on the side of the cup, and okay, Alfred should have expected that— to his lips to hide his smile.  
  
“Hey now,” Alfred laughed, unable to sound properly offended, “I’ll have you know it’s not due until Wednesday. But as I have absolutely no clue what I’m supposed to be doing, my professor said if I wrote a rough draft and brought it to her office today, she’d help me figure it out.” Arthur gave him a little ‘ah’ of understanding and took another bite of his scone, and Alfred shrugged, “It kinda sucks because I mean, lit’s not really my thing, but I’m not  _bad_  at it usually, it’s just…” he shook his head and rested his chin in his palm, “poetry, man. Completely lost on me.” After a pause he asked, “So what about you? Spend a lot of time in here or something?”  
  
Over the next half hour, Alfred learned that Arthur lived on campus, but he came down here for breakfast every morning because his roommate drove him up the wall. “Because  _of course_ , it’s a  _wonderful_  idea to put an Englishman who’s never been to this country before in a room with a French idiot who thinks a few years of school have made him an expert on all things American,” he had ranted, “That’s going to work out just  _spendidly._ ” But his roommate was graduating in the spring, and Arthur was thinking of moving off campus as opposed to dealing with a new one. He also learned that Arthur was a fellow sophomore, but he’d tested out of freshman composition classes and jumped ahead, so he’d taken Alfred’s current generic literature class in his very first semester.   
  
They didn’t get much further before Alfred looked at his watch and realized he only had about five minutes to get to class. He cursed under his breath and stood, gathering his things as he spoke, “Hey, it was good to meet you, but I gotta run. Maybe I’ll catch you in here another day? Or just see you around?” Arthur nodded, reaching for his notebook to tear out a small scrap of paper and passing it to Alfred after writing down a phone number.   
  
“Talk to your professor, but if you still need some help with your paper after that, give me a call. …And if Francis answers just ask for me and do not indulge his dramatics.” He smiled, “Poetry is… a bit of a specialty of mine. Maybe I can help you see its worth.”  
  
Alfred grinned to himself as he slipped the number into his pocket and shook Arthur’s hand again. He stepped outside and headed in the direction of the physics building with an extra spring in his step, humming a catchy tune he had heard on the radio on the drive over.   
  
Maybe there was something to be said for getting to school early after all.

**Author's Note:**

> So there it is! Let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoyed! If you are still unfamiliar with HVHH, GO READ IT! It's much better than mine, and it's a whole series (after the initial ten chapters) that will have your heart melting into a puddle of USUK feels.


End file.
